Have you ever encountered an impossible captcha?
Maybe you came across an impossible captcha many times, too often to want to recall.
As people who work online, there are times when we need to get past a seemingly impossible captcha in order to complete our goals.
However, the impossible captcha costs us time and results in raising our stress levels as we repeatedly try to get past the captcha.
By reading this post, you will discover how to get past an impossible captcha so your work progress is not delayed. Also, you will see examples of an impossible captcha I couldn’t get by. In addition, you will learn the difference between captcha vs Recaptcha.
It gets better: All these methods for solving the captcha are free, easy, and quick.
Let’s save time and discover how to get past an impossible captcha. Never be slowed by an impossible captcha again.
UPDATE: July 2023
Here is an overview of this post which explains how to solve captcha problem.
Impossible Captcha vs Recaptcha
You may have heard of a captcha, but did you know it is an acronym?
“Captcha” stands for “Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart.”
Online agencies worried about security breaches such as identity theft ask you to solve a puzzle called a “captcha.”
The rationale: Bots can’t solve the captchas. Therefore, by solving the captcha, you prove you are a human.
More on why bots can’t solve captchas later.
The problem: Bots grew smarter over time. As technology advanced, the captchas became harder to solve.
Look at the frustration with captchas a Redditor posted in 2008:
“Now this might be due to eye sight getting worse or whatever but I am seriously starting to find CAPTCHAs increasingly impossible to solve, especially the kind Google dishes out where one word is normal and the second word is completely warped. More often than not the letters are so close together it is impossible to make out [what] it is supposed to say” (Source).
The Logically Answered YouTube Channel does an impressive job tracing the evolution of the difficulty of the captcha.
When I use the phrase, “impossible captcha,” I don’t mean this:
This is easy to get by since you just check the “I’m not a robot” box.
One important note: Did you notice this simple captcha is labeled “reCaptcha?” Impossible captchas became so difficult, that in 2007, there was a revamp and the impossible captcha morphed into the “reCaptcha.” There are already three versions of the reCaptcha.
Examples of an Impossible Captcha
An impossible captcha is not for the faint of heart.
As you see, you might encounter an impossible captcha anywhere you surf the web since they are produced by your browser. I encountered this impossible captcha on PayPal while browsing using the Google Chrome Browser.
“Why is this an impossible captcha?” you might be asking yourself.
When you try to solve a captcha, do you think about your selections? Do you hesitate?
In contrast, a bot wouldn’t hesitate to think. Bots can’t replicate human behavior (Source).
Full disclosure: Chrome did not let me access the site. Look at what I checked off. Don’t they look like tractors to you? They sure look like tractors to me.
I needed to try again.
Is this also an impossible captcha?
So, what do you think?
Did I check off the right traffic lights or was this another impossible captcha?
If you believe my response to the captcha was correct, you are right. Chrome let me in this time.
The next night I got another impossible captcha involving traffic lights! Why does Chrome have an obsession with traffic lights?
I told Chrome that I am not a robot, so I’m not sure why I got this captcha.
Okay, guess. Was this an impossible captcha?
Apparently, it was impossible since I couldn’t access my PayPal account and again I was asked if I was a robot. I am second-guessing myself. What did I do wrong? Can’t I even recognize a traffic light anymore?
More about why I couldn’t pass this captcha later.
I have actually seen some captchas that say there might not even be a correct answer and in that case, we should select “none.”
Does that bring back school days when on multiple-choice tests you saw, “None of the above?”
Okay, bad news and good news:
Bad news: I still can’t get past the impossible captcha to get into my PayPal account.
Good news: Chrome has given up its obsession with quizzing me on traffic lights.
Have you ever been confronted by an impossible captcha with moving letters?
You might wonder how a captcha this simple can stop bots.
Machines can’t read text on images. Captcha capitalizes on this. By asking you to read and then type the text that appears on the image, you prove you are human and not a malicious bot out to steal someone’s money or identity.
Due to the legibility of the letters, this captcha doesn’t seem so impossible to pass.
However, I have been mystified by letters that move and even letters on top of letters. Often, I encounter wavy lines over the letters, and I am expected to read them in order to get by the captcha.
The first examples are from PayPal, the money transfer app.
Have you ever come across an impossible captcha that wasn’t related to money?
How to Solve an Impossible Captcha
1. Don’t act like a computer
Suppose you COULD quickly solve a captcha.
Big mistake! Huge! (Okay, forgive my “Pretty Woman” reference, but you get the idea.)
I thought I could solve the captcha in the first example.
But, I was dead wrong.
Here’s the deal:
Google Chrome isn’t looking to see if I can solve a captcha.
Google is looking to see if I solve the captcha like a human and not like a computer.
Reread that: If you are trying to solve a captcha, slow down.
Now you know why I couldn’t solve the captcha when my answers were correct: I was going too fast.
2. Use a browser extension
The 2Captcha Solver & Auto-Recognition Extension for Chrome is a convenient tool for anyone who needs to solve CAPTCHAs on websites quickly and easily. It can identify and solve CAPTCHAs on most websites automatically, saving you time and frustration.
It also supports multiple languages and works with a variety of CAPTCHA types, including audio, text, and image. It is an efficient and secure way to solve CAPTCHAs, making it a great choice for all your CAPTCHA-solving needs.
According to the Crown Geek YouTube Channel, the Buster Browser Extension will allow you to bypass an impossible captcha.
This free extension allows you to use speech recognition to complete the Recaptcha’s audio challenges.
The tool received four out of five stars at the Chrome Web Store. In addition to Chrome, the Buster Browser Extension is available for Firefox and Microsoft Edge.
Note: I have not tried this extension.
3. Clear your browser history
Why am I suddenly getting captchas frequently when I use PayPal?
I recently changed my PayPal password.
Does my Chrome browser know?
Of course!
Your browser remembers everything.
That is until you command your browser to forget by clearing your browser history. You will find instructions for clearing your browsing history with these directions for speeding up Google Chrome.
The Future of the Captcha
The future of the captcha is bleak. This post shared the evolution of the captcha’s difficulty due to the advancement of machine learning.
However, machine learning will continue to evolve in intelligence. This means the captcha will continue to evolve in difficulty.
Case in point: Years ago people could distinguish human writing from writing done by artificial intelligence. AI lacked tone, people claimed, and therefore the writing was obviously not composed by humans.
Now, it’s 2022, and the best article rewriter tools have tone.
Related Reading: QuillBot Review
Now that we know that further advancements in machine learning are inevitable, the only question remains: How impossible will the impossible captcha end up?
That is the reason the headline for this article includes “2022.” What works today to help you beat a captcha may not work in the future as technology develops and bots grow smarter.
Impossible Captcha: Frequently Asked Questions
When was the Recaptcha invented?
The Recaptcha started in 2007.
When was captcha used?
Captcha is used when your browser wants to confirm your identity. Captcha, and its present form, the Recaptcha, are ways web browsers have of telling you apart from a bot.
Wrapping Up: Impossible Captcha
This article has tried to convey the frustration you experience when met with an impossible captcha.
At the same time, you learned of the evolution of the captcha into the ReCaptcha. Most importantly, you discovered three methods for getting by an impossible captcha.
Readers, please share so remote workers discover how to get past captchas that cost them time and frustration.
I look forward to your views in the comments section. Have you ever been delayed, frustrated, and confused by an impossible captcha?
Janice Wald is the founder of MostlyBlogging.com and co-founder of the Mostly Blogging Academy. She is an ebook author, blogger, blogging coach, blogging judge, freelance writer, and speaker. She won the Best Internet Marketer Award and the Best Blogger Award at the 2021 Infinity Blog Awards. Wald was also nominated as 2019 Best Internet Marketer by the Infinity Blog Awards and in 2017 as the Most Informative Blogger by the London Bloggers Bash. She’s been featured on Small Business Trends, the Huffington Post, and Lifehack.
